3/25/2009 @ 7:35PM

Geico's Gecko Goes Viral

Gary Brolsma was a pudgy 19-year-old from Saddle Brook, N.J., when he posted a video of himself singing to “Dragostea Din Tei,” a Romanian pop tune, on a Web site called Newgrounds.com. It was 2004, a year before YouTube was created, when Brolsma’s video of himself awkwardly flailing his arms, dancing in his chair, went viral. It was sent through e-mails, linked to by The New York Times and shown on CNN. To date, more than 700 million people have watched what Brolsma calls the “Numa Numa Dance.”

Five years later, Brolsma, Web celeb, still averages 1 million views per month. Now his YouTube followers, once limited to friends and no-name Web surfers, include Geico, the nation’s third-largest auto insurer. It is eager to horn in on Brolsma’s Internet fame–and that of other viral video stars.

This week Geico launched its own “Numa Numa” video, starring Brolsma himself. Geico is said to have paid the now 23-year-old $2,000 to sit in his chair, wave his arms and mouth the words to the song “Somebody’s Watching Me,” a remake of the 1984 hit dance tune Geico has used in TV advertising. In the Geico-created Web video, the company’s corporate mascot, an animated gecko, dances on a lamp behind Brolsma. There’s nothing in the ad that says Geico; there is nothing that directs consumers to Geico’s site. It’s just the green lizard and Brolsma.

The video, created by the Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., is the fourth of nine YouTube ads for Geico that will feature the lizard along with or in place of the original video stars. The cartoon gecko is digitally inserted into videos that have gained “viral” status. These videos almost always feature babies or pets, says Martin’s creative team, Mike Lear and Ron Villacarillo. So Geico’s gecko appears laughing like a baby in “Laughing Baby Gecko,” and he hangs out with two mewling feline friends in “Two Talking Cats Plus Gecko.” These were the first two ads in the Geico Web series.

This no-frills campaign was shot with a home video camera an average consumer would use, says Martin Agency creative director Lear. “We wanted to use the same tools as everyone else on the site,” says Lear. “That’s what the YouTube community watches.”

Will the YouTube community watch the gecko videos? The first two videos, which are featured on Geico’s Web site, pulled in over 10,000 viewers in their fist 40 hours of Internet life last week. Geico’s “Numa Numa” attracted over 300,000 views in its first 40 hours online this week, say the Martin Agency guys.

While other marketers have posted their ads on YouTube, Lear said he believes this is the first time any company has placed its ad mascot into other popular videos. The agency and Geico have high hopes the campaign will pay for itself in attracting people who need auto insurance. Says Lear: “This isn’t a half-million dollar commercial. It’s a smart idea and will get out to millions of people.”